Back-to-back blockbusters on NBC's 'Sunday Night Football'

by jmaloni

Submitted

Tue, Nov 26th 2013 11:35 am

First time in 20
seasons consecutive primetime games post 26.5 million viewers

Last
weekend's thrilling NBC "Sunday Night Football" contest, in which Tom Brady led
the New England Patriots back from a 24-0 deficit to defeat Peyton Manning and
the Denver Broncos, 34-31, in overtime, was the most-watched primetime show of
the week, averaging 26.5 million viewers and drawing 28.1 million viewers for
the telecast's final 26 minutes from midnight-12:26 a.m. ET, according to
official live plus same day national data released today by The Nielsen
Company.

Coupled
with last week's 26.9 million viewers for Kansas City-Denver, NBC's
back-to-back "SNF" contests are the first consecutive primetime games in 20
seasons to post at least 26.5 million average viewers (not including "NFL
Kickoff" games).

The
last time back-to-back primetime games reached such viewership marks was in
1994 for a pair of star-studded contests. On Dec. 19, 1994, the
defending-champion Dallas Cowboys with future Hall of Famers Troy Aikman,
Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin defeated the New Orleans Saints, 24-16, as 27.6
million watched on ABC. The following week, on Dec. 26, the 13-2 San Francisco
49ers with future Canton enshrinees Steve Young, Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders
lost 21-14 to Cris Carter, John Randle and the Minnesota Vikings as 32.0
million tuned in. The 49ers went on to win Super Bowl XXIX.

Sunday's
"Manning-Brady XIV" matchup is the fifth NBC NFL telecast this season to
average at least 25 million viewers - the most in a season since the "SNF"
package debuted on NBC in 2006 and up from two telecasts averaging 25 million
viewers in all of '12. The 14th matchup between the future Hall of Fame
quarterbacks is also the sixth-most watched Sunday night game in the network's
eight-year "SNF" history.

"SNF's"
26.5 million average viewers for the biggest comeback victory in Patriots' team
history topped the night's No. 2 entertainment show by 102 percent (13.1
million for American Music Awards on ABC) and is a 27 percent increase over
last season's week 12 "SNF" game (20.9 million viewers for Green Bay-New York
Giants).

The
Patriots' victory - highlighted by Brady's 344 passing yards and three
touchdowns - on "Sunday Night Football" (8:34-12:26 a.m. ET) also posted the
week's highest primetime rating (15.6/25) and a 9.8 rating in the Adult 18-49
demographic, based on live plus same day Nielsen data.

NBC
NFL games are averaging a 13.2 HH rating and 22.5 million viewers per telecast
- the network's best 12-week start since acquiring the "SNF" package in 2006. In
addition, "SNF" tops primetime in Adults, Men and Women 18-34 and 18-49 demos
and Adults and Men 25-54. "SNF" is also on record pace in the Women's 18-49 and
25-54 demos.

Broncos-Patriots
delivered a record 21.3 million minutes of consumption through NBC Sports Live
Extra, NBC Sports Group's live streaming product. The 21.3 million minutes are
the most for any NBC NFL regular-season game, passing this season's "NFL
Kickoff" game between the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos, which delivered
20.7 million minutes with the aid of a lengthy weather delay.

The
game also accounted for the second-most minutes consumed among all NBC NFL
games, trailing only the consumption of Super Bowl XLVI (78.6 million, Feb. 5,
2012). Fans streaming the game averaged 60.5 minutes per visit, marking the
best engagement for any NBC NFL game ever, including its live stream of Super
Bowl XLVI.